Ghosts of Men
by TakaiTenchi
Summary: Danny disappeared into the ghost zone when he was 18, what happens when he returns three years later? Will his friends still want him around? Will he still have a place with Sam?
1. Reunited

A thin woman in her early twenties rushed around her living room, putting together her things and picking up the small messes that littered the apartment. All of her thick black hair was pulled up into a messy bun on the back of her head, and she moved quickly from one task to the next. Her calf length black skirt swayed and billowed as she moved. She used one bare foot to kick up a stray tank top off the ground and toss it into the air where she caught it. The tank she'd just caught was identical to the plain purple one she wore except that it was green in color.

Hearing a knock on her door the twenty-one year old woman dropped her pile of clothes she was holding into a laundry basket and skipped over to the door. All five feet and six inches of the woman were smiling in anticipation of seeing her boyfriend she pulled open the door, chastising him as she did so, "What? Forget your keys again?"

Samantha Manson stood in her open doorway, amethyst eyes staring at the tall man standing in the hallway outside her apartment. Right in front of her was a messy head of raven colored hair and shining blue eyes, all hidden behind an all to familiar grin that was plastered on Daniel Fenton's face whenever he was embarrassed or feeling shy. The once goofy looking halfa had packed on some muscle and anyone with eyes could see his well defined body moving nervously underneath his black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. The goatee was new. As well as a scar on Danny's left cheek, just beneath his eye.

"Uh…Hi Sam. Miss me?"

Sam did the only thing could think to do at the time, she slapped Danny. The crisp sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the hallway, getting the attention of one of Sam's noisy neighbors who suddenly decided to linger outside their door with an armful of groceries a bit longer than necessary. Danny stood in shock, staring at Sam blankly, a red welt slowly forming on his cheek. Sam slammed the door in his face, slumping down against the wooden support as she sunk her head into her hands.

_Oh…what did I just do? I don't see him in three years, I think he's dead and what do I do? Slap him and close my door when he shows up. No, I didn't just close my door, I slammed it, in his face!_

Sam quickly stood back up, yanking her door open again, afraid that her 'back-from-the-dead' friend might have left after her scene. Much to her relief Danny sat against the far sided of the hallway, head hung low as he waited. He waited for her. She could feel the sting of tears biting at her eyes as Danny looked up at her with that lopsided grin once again. He remained seated though, back against the wall, arms propped on top of his knees as he leaned his head back until his dark blue eyes looked blankly at the ceiling and his smile faded.

"Dose 'Sorry' even begin to cut it?"

Sam drew in a sharp breath, cutting back any tears that threatened to form, "That depends."

"On?" Danny's voice was flat, blank….sorrowful even. Sam knew that Danny thought he could never make it up to her, and she wanted to tell him that she forgave him, but she hadn't just yet. His head sunk into her hands she he sighed in regret.

"On what you do next." Sam caught herself smiling a little in spite of herself as Danny looked once again at the beautiful woman she had become while he was gone. She held out a hand towards Danny and felt her heart flutter when he accepted it and stood. "Come on," she told him, "Let's get inside before my neighbors decide to make some popcorn and get a video camera."

Danny nodded, as Sam turned back into her apartment. It didn't go unnoticed by her that Daniel refused to let go of her hand as she led him to her living room. Part of her didn't mind, the part of her that thought this was just another dream and she would loose him again once she let go of his hand and woke up. Finally she pulled her hand away from Danny and gestured towards the couch as she went to grab two beers from her fridge. Evan wouldn't mind. No. What he'd mind was a six foot two inch man sitting on his couch talking to his fiancé. It wasn't that Evan wasn't the jealous kind, he just wouldn't like this, and Sam knew it.

Sam plopped down on the arm chair across from Danny, handing him a beer over the coffee table.

"I thought you hated beer?" Danny twisted the cap off his drink as his gaze avoided Sam like he was afraid to meet her eyes.

"Yea? Well, I guess a lot changes in three years." Sam followed suit, twisting the cap off her beer, only she kept the hem of her violet colored tank over the top so she wouldn't tear up her hand on the cap. Pulling her legs up into the chair with her, Sam tossed the bottle cap on the table and took a huge drink from the bottle, making sure she didn't show her disgust for the drink. Right now, the taste of beer was the last thing on her mind, she just needed something.

"I guess so…Sammy…I'm so sorry Sam." Danny looked up and caught Sam's own eyes with his blue ones. His mouth was moving, trying to offer word after useless word to soften the anger building inside of her. His mouth was moving, his eyes were frozen in sorrow and…was that…horror? Horror of what? Was Danny afraid she'd throw him out now? Sam shook her head, almost laughing to herself. Her light chuckle cut off Danny and his repeated apologies.

"Just….what happened?" Sam's voice was soft as she started, "What happened after that fight?" Her voice was gradually getting louder as she became more agitated. "Why did you just LEAVE?!? We- We all thought….we thought you were dead! OK! We watched you go into the ghost zone with Skulker….we waited Danny. I waited. Jazz and I…we spent three days sitting outside that damn portal, just…waiting. Tucker kept trying to get us to leave, but we wouldn't. Your mother kept crying. And Jack--" Sam sighed, Danny probably didn't know any of this, and she was about to tell him some very hard news. "Your dad….he, he just broke Danny. He wasn't himself after you disappeared. Jazz takes flowers to the ghost zone entrance every year, then she visits your father."

Sam's voice trailed off and she found herself staring intently at her grey carpet, and wondering vaguely if she should get the carpets steamed.

"My dad? Sam…what happened to my dad?"

Sam could hear the panic her Danny's voice. Part of her relished in that he came to her first, part of her hated it. "Ask your sister."

Her eyes looked up at Danny again, as cold and biting as her voice. She saw the look of panic on Danny's face as he sat on the edge of her couch, worry causing every muscle in his body to twitch. "And answer my question. Why, Danny?"

Danny sighed deeply, sinking into the couch and burring his head in his hands. Seemed like he'd gotten rid of his neck rubbing habit and formed a new one.

"I couldn't leave…ok? It's…..not that I didn't want to, or didn't try. I couldn't. I…" Danny shuddered at the memory of what had happened before drawing in a breath and continuing. "I _killed_ Skulker. I didn't even know ghosts could die…I guess he didn't _die_ persay, but he…._faded. I got arrested in the ghost zone…."_

"Arrested? So what?!?!" Sam stood up, throwing her hands over head as she turned away from Danny in an exasperated motion. She turned quickly around, facing Danny again, "You got out before, why not this time e?" she accused him.

"Sam, it's not that simple. Before they just had these stupid walls that are everywhere in the ghost zone, all I had to do to get out was turn back human. This time they had set up a cell just for me. Pft, cell.." Danny scoffed at the word like it tasted bitter on his tongue. "It was three feet by five feet, barely tall enough for me to stand straight, and it was a steel box with a grate over the top, and…it was laced with a ghost shield. I couldn't get out as a human because of the steel, and I couldn't even turn ghost without getting shocked from the shield."

His head had never left his hands until now, he slowly looked up at Sam, his blue eyes pleading. "I…I would go ghost a little bit each day, to try and get used to the pain. I would try to hold it longer every day. It was agony, Sam." Danny shook his head before returning it to his hands and continuing. It was all Sam could do to look at Danny right now.

"So, I spent every day hanging from the open grate, doing sit ups….and pressed against the walls in ghost form. There wasn't anything else I could do, and I knew I needed to get out. Finally, last week, I went ghost, and I blasted the steel, it took a lot, but I finally broke a hole through it, then I turned human and I ran."

He stopped, waiting. Sam couldn't tell what he was waiting for though. She just stood in awe, watching him for what felt like an eternity before she sat her beer on the table and stepped towards him all in one smooth motion. She dropped to the ground in front of Danny, wrapping her thin arms around his neck and shoulders.

"I'm so sorry Danny…..I'm so sorry. If I'd know…" Sam bit back a chocking sob as she realized she could have freed him long ago if she had only thought to go looking for him in the ghost zone.

"No!" Danny cut off her thoughts of self blame as he pulled out of her arms and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, he shook her a little as he spoke, "Don't ever blame yourself Sammy. There was nothing you could have done. Understood?"

Danny looked into her amethyst eyes intently as she nodded slowly. She still felt to blame in some way, but she couldn't argue with Danny right now. Before she could think about what was happening she heard Danny whisper that he'd missed her so much, and then in what seemed like a split second Danny had his arms around Sam, and his lips pressed gently to hers.

Sam could feel her heart breaking and could see all the horrible ways this would end, on reflex she pushed Danny away and almost slapped him again.

"What the HELL? What the hell Danny!" Sam had stood back up, and was putting physical distance between the two of them as she backed up towards the wall.

"I-I'm sorry Sam!" Danny stood, arms outstretched and up turned in an apologetic show, "I shouldn't have done that! I'm sorry. I should have known not to come back after all this time and just….just think I'd get away with 'I'm sorry and a kiss', Sam…" He looked at her pleadingly.

"Danny, I'm engaged!"

Sorry about the confussion there for a while with the bold/italic font, for some reason the thing was uploading wierd, I actually had to go into the document on html and edit it out


	2. Three's a Party

"You're WHAT?" Danny was fuming, Sam had never seen him like this, he passed anxiously round the room, his feet pounding heavily on the floor.

"Engaged! You know, betrothed! Promised to be wed! Do I need some more synonyms for you Danny?"

"AGH!" Danny turned to the nearest wall, banging both his fists against it and hanging his head until it bumped the wall and rested there. Sam watched him in silence for a few moments, unsure what else she could say. She hadn't meant to throw something like that at Danny, but he just kissed her, he'd brought that upon himself really.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Danny's head snapped up as his now green eyes fell on Sam, anger showing through.

Sam paused for a minute, caught unaware by his eyes before something in her snapped. He had no right to be mad at her for this. "Sorry, Danny, I didn't realize that was how this worked! You show up after three years, Three Years Danny! I thought you were DEAD! I moved on, it was all I could do! I didn't expect you to come back from the dead, so what am I supposed to do when you shop up announced on my doorstep? Say 'Oh, Hi Danny, long time no see….how ya been? By the way, I'm getting married! Fancy that hu?' NO." Sam had been gesturing exaggeratedly while she ranted on. Now she planted her hands firmly on her hips as she inhaled deeply. Sam hadn't even realized that she'd failed to breathe during that entire rant. Now she was more than a little taken aback with herself.

Danny looked just as shocked as she felt about her outburst. She could see him gritting his teeth as he blinked and his eyes faded back to their clear blue color. "Alright Sam, When did you get engaged? Who is this guy? I swear if you say it's Tucker, I'll kill him."

"Daniel Fenton!" Sam gasped at the dark haired man, "No, it's not Tucker, and you would not kill your best friend just because he was there to comfort me when you were gone." Sam looked to the floor and let her gaze linger there as she continued on, "His name is Evan Carlton, You remember I had just gotten into college when… when you disappeared? It was a week before graduation. When I went to college…..I met Evan in my English 101 class….He was sweet…but, I wasn't ready to date. I told him I just needed a friend, and he understood."

Sam looked up again, her amethyst eyes holding back bitter tears as a sad smile graced her lips, "A year after you'd been gone….We were at the movies….and, he kissed me. I didn't push him away, I didn't get upset. I was ready to move on, and I did. He proposed on Saturday. I didn't know you'd be at my door on Tuesday…." Her voice trailed off as she threw another sad smile at Danny.

"Oh Sam….Sammy, I'm sorry…." Danny crossed the room quickly, putting gentle arms around Sam to hold her up since she looked like she was about to fall into a tiny little ball. Danny's voice was a soft whisper as he spoke, "I'm so sorry Sammy, I shouldn't have expected you to wait for me without any kind of word at all."

Sam barely noticed the soft clicking sound of the lock opening, and the creak as her front door was pushed open. She definitely didn't notice Evan standing in the entrance to the living room since she had her head buried in Danny's chest. What she did notice was the familiar sound of Evan's light tenor voice.

"What is going on here?"

Danny let go of Sam, his head snapping over to look at the new comer as Sam looked slowly up at Evan before sinking down onto the floor. Her voice cracked a little as she spoke, "Hi Sweetheart…..I want you to meet Danny…..Danny Fenton." Her eyes roamed about the room slowly, not focusing on the six foot tall blond in slacks and a white dress shirt. If Sam focused her eyes on Evan she would have noticed his brown eyes pantomimed anger and confusion all at the same time while he stood open mouthed looking between his crumpled up fiancé and thus…this MAN.

"You mean…the DEAD Danny?"

Sam nodded, "Yup, that's the one."

Evan looked Danny up and down as the dark haired man sized him up. Finally, smothering the feelings of hate that were welling up inside himself, Evan reached out a hand towards Danny, "Well, you look pretty good for a dead guy. Can I ask why you choose now of all times to walk back into Samantha's life? Don't' you think you've hurt her enough?"

Danny Clenched his jaw tight as he shook hands with Evan, "Did Sammy ever tell you the events that lead to her thinking I was dead?"

Evan never took his eyes off Danny, "Just that there was some horrible accident, and they never found your body…now we know why."

"Danny…." Sam looked up at the two of them, taking in a slow breath. "Go see your sister, she'll need to know you're alright."

Danny drew his hand away from Evan finally, turning to Sam in a worried fashion, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now leave. Please."

Danny held his place for a moment, his mouth open like he wanted to say something else, but then he nodded and walked sullenly towards the door. No one spoke again until they heard the soft click of the door closing.

Evan was the first to move, to breathe, to speak again. He slid down to sit next to Sam on the floor, a light air about him even though he put on a façade of being angry, "The nerve of that man? Can you believe it Sammy?" He'd never been one to call her anything other than Sam or Samantha, but he tried a stab at the name he'd heard Danny call her, "Letting you think he was dead and thinking he could just walk back into your life!"

Sam stood up and stormed towards the bed room, slamming the door behind her and leaving a bewildered Evan in the living room. She pulled the door open, looking out at the blond man, "DON'T call me Sammy!" She slammed the door again.

Five more second and she opened the door once more, "And he didn't 'let' me think anything! He was a soldier, and he was being held captive!" Sam slammed the door a third time, regretting her partial lie to Evan, but she wasn't about to tell him that Danny Fenton was Danny Phantom. She threw herself on her bed, running her hands over the dark sheets as she thought.

Yes, she was mad at Danny, but not because he'd been gone. That wasn't his fault, and she knew it. She was mad because he had expected nothing would change. She was mad at Evan too. Mad because he thought she would hate Danny. He thought she SHOULD hated Danny. Sam's mind wandered back to the events before Danny had been taken away from her. Their senior year of high school. Danny and Sam had been dating for half the year, which thrilled Jazz and Tucker to no end.

Her mind went to one day in particular. The day of the attack. It was a Saturday morning. She was laying in the cool shade of a tree, early morning dew still on the grass seeped through her clothes getting her skin wet. She watched the sky change colors slowly through the speckled canopy of leaves above her head. Next to her lay Danny. He was skinnier than he was now, an inch or so shorter too. His hair didn't seem as messy, and his eyes weren't cold at all. He was clean shaven, and no scars marked his face. No scars marked his body at all. She briefly wondered how many scars covered his flesh now, something in the way he moved told her that he had a lot more hurts than just the ones she could see.

That morning she'd looked at Danny, smiling sweetly as she wondered about the future. Danny reached out, taking her hand, and there was something cold and hard being held between their two hands. She remembered her face distorting into a look of confusion as she twisted, sitting up on her side and pulling her hand back from Danny's. She took with the small metal thing he'd placed in her hand. Carefully she'd opened her hand to see Danny's high school ring. She couldn't help but laugh to herself, even now, at the thought of how old fashioned and silly it was for her to wear a class ring from her boyfriend.

Sam looked at her left hand, at the silver band with a tiny diamond, framed by two little amethysts. How original. Slowly, careful not to make to much noise, lest Evan choose now to come in and try talking to her again, Sam went to the dresser by her bed. On top of it was a jewelry box that her grandmother had given her, a beautiful antique with hand painted roses on the wood.

Sam pulled out the bottom drawer on the jewelry box and looked at the only thing in it, a Casper High school ring. Pulling it out gingerly and turning it over in her fingers she looked at every inch of it, though she had long ago memorized the little bronze ring. The stone was sapphire, the same color as Danny's eyes, and engraved on the inside of the ring was 'Semper Fi' in italic script..._always faithful..._

Sam sat on the edge of her bed, her mind blank, Danny's ring pressed tightly to her chest.


	3. Lost but not Forgotten

Danny sat on his sister's couch, a cup of hot coffee in his hands. The steam from the mug drifted up along with the sharp scent, bringing his mind slowly back to this reality. He could see Jazz in her kitchen, walking around in worried little circles as she jabbered on to their mother. He wasn't really paying attention, but he could hear her telling Maddie Fenton it was important and could NOT wait. Something else was in there about leaving dad out of it for now, they didn't want to hit him with a shock.

Jazz hung up the phone and turned to Danny, grinning ear to ear. She looked old, older than she should at least. Her eyes were sunken now, and her hair was shorter, it didn't look good on her. Her voice sounded like she'd been through hell and back, she had no idea.

"Oh, Danny, I'm so thankful you're alive!" Jazz threw herself at her younger brother for the seven time since he'd walked through her door, hugging him like she was afraid it was all just some big lie. "OH!, Sam, and Tucker, we have to tell them too!" Jazz rushed back to her phone, picking it up to dial another number.

Danny's deep voice cut Jazz off in her dialing, "I already saw Sam…."

Jazz stared at Danny, pushing "end" on the phone and setting it back on the counter, "You already saw Sam? Why isn't she here with you?"

Danny shook his head and took a large gulp of coffee, enjoying the sensation of the hot, bitter stuff running down his throat, "She threw me out."

"Oh…."Jazz dropped down onto the couch next to Danny, placing a small hand on his shoulder for comfort. He already knew that his sister was probably psychoanalyzing in her head right now, trying to figure out what mental trauma was done to Danny in the ghost zone and how much it hurt that Sam had told him to get out of her home. "Do you want me to get Tucker over here?"

Danny stared at the coffee for a bit before finally nodding slowly, "Yea…I think I need to get all the reunions over with."

Jazz stood up and went back to her phone without another word. It was back to the same scene from exactly before, Danny sat in silence by himself and Jazz was telling someone they needed to come to her place right away. There wasn't as much fighting about the subject with Tucker though, there were just a few solemn words and a "prepare yourself" thrown in there.

Jazz leaned against her counter, arms crossed over her chest as she watched Danny for a few moments before venturing to speak again, "You know, Tucker's changed a lot…..He's still smart and weird, but…he's gotten a lot more mature. He took it upon himself to take up ghost hunting when…." Jazz swallowed the next words, unable to speak them out loud.

Danny only nodded again. He'd seen Sam, he knew nothing would be the same as it had been. "Jazz….Can I stay here?" Danny's blue eyes fell on his sister, it hurt him to ask for anything now, but he had just come back from the dead, he didn't have a home, a job, anything.

It was Jazz's turn to nod now, smiling a little, "You didn't even have to ask, little brother. I have a spare room at the end of the hall, it's full of mostly book and junk, but I'll go pick up a futon or something later today, and we'll get you set up for as long as you need."

"Thanks sis."

Right then an older woman with red hair, streaked with grey burst through Jazz's door in a huff of worry and excitement. When had she started to get grey hair? Maddie Fenton wasn't wearing her regular blue jumpsuit, instead she had on black jeans and a blue knit sweater with a big, folded over neck that looked like something Danny had seen Sam's mother in once, only not in cashmere or pink.

"Jazz, Honey! What is it? What's wrong? Why couldn't you tell me over the phone?" Maddie had walked right past her son to Jazz. She hadn't even seen Danny she was so focused on her daughter.

"Mom…"Jazz could barely keep from smiling as she turned her mother around to face Danny who was standing up with his hands in his pockets.

"Hi, Mom. Sorry I didn't call."

Maddie covered her mouth with both hands, holding back what sounded suspiciously like a sob. Unlike Sam and Jazz both, Maddie didn't even try to hide her tears as she walked slowly towards Danny like she were in a trance. Once she stood arms length from her son, Maddie reached out and placed a hand on Danny's cheek.

"You're really here…." Danny grabbed his mother in a hug as she broke down crying. He shushed her gently as she whispered jumbled things about missing him and thinking he was dead. Suddenly pulling out of Danny's arms to look at him Maddie had her face set in that 'young-man-you-are-in-big-trouble' face. Her hands wer set firmly on her hips. Yup, he was in for it.

"Daniel Fenton," Danny flinched a bit as he heard his full name being used again, he was starting to hate his name. "You have a lot of explaining to do.

"I will mom, I will explain, but….can we wait for Tucker to get here? I don't want to tell this anymore times than I have to."

Maddie sighed, dropping her arms to her side as she collapsed onto Jazz's couch, "Yes, we can wait."

They passed the time until Tucker showed up by telling Danny everything he'd missed. They told him about the current state of affairs, the new president, and all the things he would have to do and see now. They also told him about Jack Fenton. It seems that while Jazz and Sam took his 'death' pretty hard, Jack took it the hardest. He had locked himself in his room for a month right after it happened. He wouldn't speak the entire time. He barely ate any of the food Maddie and Jazz would bring him. They finally got him to come out of his room, but he still wouldn't speak, wouldn't look directly at anyone, and wouldn't do anything. He would sit in one spot for hours, just staring, not at anything in particular, but staring none the less.

After a year or so he said one thing, one thing to his wife. "It's my fault, me and my ghost hunting." After that he gathered up all the ghost hunting equipment in the house without so much as a peep, put it in a pile while Maddie was out getting groceries, and she came home to find it all burning in the front yard. The firemen were already there, trying to put it out. Jack was physically fine, except for a small burn on his arm. His mind had snapped though. They had all known for a while that he wasn't going to come out of his depression, but everyone had just wanted to give him time, they wanted for him to come back to his senses. He learned that his dad currently stayed in his own room most of the time, and his mom had hired a live in nurse to help care for Jack.

It wasn't to long before someone, probably Tucker was knocking on Jazz's door. Danny sat with his mother, talking more while Jazz opened the door and brought Tucker in. Danny turned towards his friend as he stood, both men staring to take in everything they were seeing. Tucker was taller now, almost as tall as Danny, his hair had grown out into dreadlocks that were pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck, but he still had his red cap on his head. He had bulked up, though he was still skinnier than Danny. Tucker wore a yellow hoodie and torn and frayed blue jeans. His dark eyes stared in disbelief at Danny who grinned sheepishly back at Tucker.

"Danny? Danny, man!" Tucker ran to his friend, not caring that it wasn't manly to take Danny in his arms for a hug. Stepping back to arms length they looked at each other again, "It's you! You're here, and you aren't a ghost! Oh man, what happened?"

Danny's smile faded as he gestured for Tucker to sit down, and he retook his place next to his mother. Clasping his hands together as he leaned forward, bracing his arms on his knees Danny took in a slow breath. "Tuck," Danny glanced from his friend to his mother, "Mom," and his eyes fell on Jazz who was sitting down in another chair before he looked to the floor again, "Sis…It started when Skulker showed up at my school."

Danny went through the details of the day, sparing the fact that he was Danny Phantom, since his mother didn't know. Instead of telling them how Skulker had finally captured him, he claimed he went after Phantom to help him, and he himself got captured, but the rest of the story he told was true. In order to keep the details as straight as possible, and lie to his mother as little as possible Danny told them that he and Phantom were forced to share the small cell. He spared them all the most gruesome details, knowing that none of them needed to her about the torture he was put through. All he would accomplish by telling them about the meaningless beatings and solitary confinement would be to make everyone upset.

By the time Danny had finished, his cup sat three quarters empty on the side table, and what was left in it might as well have been ice for how long it had been sitting. Danny felt more tired than he had in a long time.

"Danny…I'm so sorry man. We saw Skulker carrying you into the ghost zone…" Tucker shook his head a bit at the memory of his friends limp and torn body covered in blood, "I took the ghost zoomer and tried to follow, but-- I ran into Ember before I found Skulker. That is one crazy ghost bitch. I couldn't do anything back then, she basically beat the crap out of me, and threw me out of the ghost zone." It was painful to remember watching Danny get blasted then fall from the sky into Skulker's waiting arms as his body changed back from ghost to human.

Danny watched Tucker as he spoke, wondering where this was going. He had always hoped that someone had gone after him, but Skulker had told him that everyone saw his lifeless body, so he hadn't held out much hope.

"I kept going back you know. Even built my own ghost portal so I wouldn't have to keep sneaking into your parents place." Tucker tossed Maddie a sheepish look before continuing, "That place is infinite…..and everywhere I go, there's a ghost who wants to kill me just because my blood is red."

Danny just stared at Tucker, unsure of what to say. His friend had been looking for him. He had never given up hope. Why hadn't everyone else been helping? They could have mapped off the ghost zone into quadrants and have looked for him together. They could have done something!

Danny didn't even realize what his body was doing when he stood and began storming down the hall towards Jazz's guest room. Everyone watched in silence as he stomped out of the room, and flinched when they heard the door slam shut. No one had seen his eyes turn an eerie green, or noticed that his hair seemed to move from an ethereal wind where there wasn't even a breeze in the house.

He hadn't even thought that they would actually go after him, he had never let himself hope. He told himself that he preferred they stayed safe in the human world, but now. Now he knew that one person, ONE person had gone looking for him. All everyone else did was sit around crying and they might actually have found him if that had all acted like Tucker. He was furious. Danny yelled, no words in particular, just a primal sound of anger and frustration, as he punched his fist into the wall.

"Uh…Danny?" He turned to see his sister standing in the room, looking more than a little afraid of him as she surveyed the hole he had just put in her wall. Her turquoise eyes froze as she noticed his eyes had turned green. "It wasn't their fault. I know how you must feel, but you have to understand…Sam, Tucker, Valerie and I…..we saw Skulker blast you, you changed back from ghost. There, there was this hole in you chest and we couldn't see you breathing, I know it sounds stupid now, but--" Jazz had shifted, putting her arms around her body.

Danny let his hand drift unconsciously to the center of his chest where he still had a very prominent and very painful scar from the wound Jazz was talking about. He had woken up in Skulker's 'home' with the large wound still oozing blood, parts of it had been cauterized with the attack itself, parts hadn't. He could feel the broken ribs and didn't even want to think of how much damage had been done internally.

His eyes flashed back to their normal blue and Danny nodded a bit to his sister, "Sorry about your wall."

Jazz chuckled a bit, "It's fine."

Danny was still upset that they hadn't all gone rushing off to look for him, and he was angry that they hadn't found him, but he knew that the ghost zone was just as large as their world. The logical part of him said that there was nothing they could have done. The part of him that had grown bitter in the last three years told him that they should have searched, all of them and that Tucker could have looked harder. That part said he wouldn't have stopped looking until he found them if it had been one of them to disappear. That part told him to resent his friends and family for letting him go through hell. The other part told him to forgive.


	4. It's My Party and My Fight

It had been a week since she'd seen Danny and Sam sat in front of her dresser and mirror, brushing out her hair. Jazz was throwing a party tonight to celebrate her brother being not dead, and Sam was going. Of course she was going, it was silly to think she wouldn't. She was hurt and confused, and she knew that things could not end well with Danny and Evan in the same building, especially with how quickly his temper had seemed to take over when she spoke to Danny before. But damn it, she was still going. Danny had been her best friend and she loved him, or….had loved him…she wasn't sure which anymore.

Hanging loosely her hair fell to the middle of her back. Sam played with the idea of putting it up, then decided to leave it down for a change. She put a black chocker around her neck and stood up, straightening out the mid-thigh length black dress she was wearing. Jazz had said dress up, so she dressed up. Behind her Evan was digging through their closet, grumbling something about stupid ties and stupid parties. Normally she would have agreed with him, but this was Danny, and she needed to be there for him now that the initial shock had set in.

Evan moved so he was standing behind Sam, wrapping his arms around her waist as he rested his chin on her head, "I'll promise to be the best arm candy ever tonight if you fix my tie." He flashed her a bit of a smile, trying to cheer her up.

Sam couldn't help but smile in return as she twisted around in Evan's arms so she could get at the blue and silver tie he had draping over his neck. It went well with the dark blue shirt and grey dress slacks he was wearing. Sam shook her head, "I think the tie's a bit much honey, Jazz said semi-formal."

"Alright, well, I still promise to behave." Evan tossed the tie onto the bed, she'd have to put it up later because God knows he wouldn't. "You know, you don't have to do this if you aren't comfortable with it Sam." He hadn't called her Sammy again since that first day.

"I'm going." Sam turned away from Evan grabbing her clutch purse as she did, "If you aren't comfortable with this, then stay here, but don't try to talk me out of it again." She heard Evan sigh and probably shake his head before the soft dup dup of his dress shoes on carpet followed behind her.

The ride to Jazz's house was made in silence. Sam stared out the window of the car, resting her chin on her hand. She felt so awful about how she had treated Danny when he showed up. She had berated herself multiple times, saying in mind that there had to have been a different way to have dealt with it. She also suddenly hated herself for not having done something, anything, to have changed how things turned out. A huge part of her now also doubted her life over the past three years, the part that had slipped Danny's ring onto a chain and carefully hidden it under her dress.

She loved Evan. He was good to her. Evan was intelligent, charming on occasions, and driven. Danny was so different from Evan. Danny was funny, stubborn, a bit dense but never one to surrender. Evan was also happy to just live life, not making a difference for anyone other than himself and his immediate friends and family. Danny couldn't live without trying to save everyone. That much was evidenced from the resurfacing of Danny Phantom in the news this past week. Danny wanted to save everyone, he was selfless that way. Evan wanted to protect what he already had. She loved Evan. She loved Danny. She couldn't throw Evan aside like their love means nothing just because Danny came back from the dead. She couldn't forget Danny either though.

Before Sam knew it they were outside Jazz's house, pulling into the huge semi-circle drive in front of her house. There were already about a dozen other cars there. _Jeeze, Jazz, how many people do you have coming to your little 'My brother's not dead' party?_

Sam and Evan stepped out of the car and went up to the house. The front doors were wide open, so she assumed they were supposed to just go on in. The two of them went towards the back yard where commotion could be easily heard. There, in Jazz's backyard were more people then Sam had anticipated. It looked like half of Amnity Park was already there, and more were probably coming.

Jazz came skipping up to the happy couple in an aqua colored knee length dress, a matching headband pulling her hair from her face. "Sam! Oh, isn't this just the best?"

Sam look around the backyard, taking note of the strings of lanterns that she had probably spent hours direction someone else in hanging. She nodded her head a little, "Yeah, it looks nice Jazz, where's Danny?"

"In the study at the end of the hall, he was complaining about the clothes I got him for tonight, so he's probably sulking. Why don't you go drag him out here, I'll entertain Mr. Bigshot here." Jazz took Evan by the arm dragging him towards a large table with drinks and snacks before either he or Sam could say anything. All Sam heard as Jazz disappeared with her boyfriend was a question about Evan's work.

Sam sighed a bit, turning with a shrug to head towards the indicated room. Upon reaching the door Sam paused, listening to the faint sounds of Danny cursing on the other side of the door before she knocked lightly and pushed the door open without waiting for a reply. She was greeted with the sight of Danny in black dress slacks, his wet hair messy and clinging to his face, and a lavender colored dress shirt hanging open on his chest. Sam gasped and covered her mouth as her eyes fell on the large white scar on Danny's chest where he had been shot that fateful day. That scar didn't surprise her as much as the other scars along the entire front of his chest did.

She looked up from Danny's old wounds to his face, and regretted it. He stood frozen, hands on the collar of his shirt like he was mid-motion into adjusting it. His blue eyes were staring indifferently at Sam. The only movement on his entire body was the slight heave and fall of his chest as he breathed, and small drops of water falling from his hair onto his skin and running down until they disappeared.

Sam couldn't bring herself to move or say anything. She stood there, the tears she'd held back for the past week swelling to the front of her eyes and pouring over. Just as slowly as she had started to cry, Danny moved towards her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and cradling her against his chest as he ran a hand comfortingly through her hair. She knew he was trying to help, but something in the way his muscles tensed told her he was angry with her. He had every right to be. It was no wonder he seemed so much quicker to anger, anyone who went through whatever gave him all those scars would be different coming out than when they had gone in.

Sam wiggled out of Danny's tight grasp and, not looking at him, pulled the ring from around her neck, lifting it to where he could see it clearly. "I kept it Danny."

Nothing. He didn't say a word. He wasn't moving. His muscles were tense with anger again. She was afraid to look up and see glowing green eyes.

It seemed like an eternity was passing.

Why wouldn't he say something, anything!

"Are you giving it back?" Finally.

Sam swallowed before answering, "I'd prefer not to, but if you want it back, I'll understand."

Now, she looked up. As soon as she had looked into Danny's amethyst eyes she knew this was going to be one of those nights because for the second time since she'd started dating Evan, she was kissing another man. This time she didn't push Danny away and she didn't go to slap him. She stood wrapped in Danny's arms, his lips pressed to hers. When he broke the kiss and set his forehead against hers she could feel him smiling at her.

"We never broke up, Sammy. So technically, you're cheating on me, not Evan."

Sam shook her head a little as she stepped out of Danny's arms, "That's not how it works."

"Then why didn't you stop me?"

"Danny….Please don't make me do this." Sam pleaded with Danny. "I love you. I'll always love you, but I've made a commitment to Evan."

"Some commitment." Danny's voice had turned to ice and his jaw had stiffened. He shouldered his way past Sam, starting on his shirt buttons as he went. He paused, throwing a look over his shoulder, "By the way, I like your hair long." With that Danny walked out into the party, leaving Sam with her thoughts. Sam sat down against the wall just enjoying the relative silence to the general bustle she could hear outside.

Probably an hour or more passed before she heard the distinct sound of Evan's voice and it was raised in anger, his words slurred a bit. Great. He was drunk. Sam was already on her feet hurrying outside as she listened to Evan yelling, "You'se gots some nerve! Y-you break Sam's heart, then juss walz right back in? Now, you'se wantin' t' tell ME abouts MY girlfriend?" Yup, definitely drunk.

Sam came around the corner into the backyard just in time to see Evan take a swing at the equally drunk Danny. What she imagined was supposed to be a punch to the jaw turned into Evan flinging his arm around Danny's head as Danny grabbed Evan's waist. The afore mentioned man began to hit the other in the back on the head with his flailing arm while the dark haired brute of the two decided to just walk both of them into the pool. Oh, that was wonderful. Good thing Sam had told Evan not to wear that silk tie.

The two men splashed around in the deep end of the pool for a few seconds, each trying to shove the other under the water and neither succeeding for very long. Sam marched to the edge of the pool, hands on her hips and eyes watching the two men. It didn't take but a few seconds for both of them to notice the evil sensation washing over them and the feeling of impending doom. Both heads slowly turned to look at Sam. The men were frozen in an unusual position, Danny had Evan in a head lock while Evan was holding tightly onto Danny's hair. God, they fought like girls when they were drunk!

Calls of "Hi, Sweetie," and "Hi, Sammy" rang out in unison.

"Hi." Sam turned to Jazz as the two men climbed out of the pool, "Call Evan a cab please."

"What? You're staying here?" Evan had seemed to sober quickly enough at that proposition.

"Yes!" Danny clenched his hand into a fist and pumped it once in victory.

"No."

Now it was Danny's turn to look hurt and pissed and Evan's turn to grin victoriously at his rival.

"I am going to my mother's. Evan, you are going home to think this through. I love you, but if you keep this up you're going to push me away. Danny, you are staying here. I need to get away from both of you." Sam turned and left, hugging Jazz on her way past. She only made it as far as her car when she stopped. She sat in the driver's seat, hands clenched on the wheel, engine turned off. Tap. Tap. Sam looked to the side, it was Jazz. She rolled down the window.

"I know you hate your parents, Sam. You can stay the night, we'll share my room, I'll make sure Danny leaves you alone. Ok?"

"Can we get Evan out of here first? I don't need anymore headaches from him right now."

Jazz nodded, "Sure. Go around the block, have an ice cream at that shop on the corner. I'll send your fiancée away in a cab, and tell your boyfriend to go lay down and sleep off the alcohol."

"Sounds good, I'll come back in an hour or so." Sam turned the engine over and took off slowly down Jazz's driveway as the redhead went back into her house.


	5. What good are words?

**Author's Note: I want to thank everyone who's been commenting on the story so far. I am so glad to see so many positive and constructive comments. If you've offered suggestions on improving the story, then you've probably seen the additions I've made based on your suggestions, or you will in later chapters at least. Well, I hope you continue to enjoy it and stick around to see how it all plays out. Now back to the story.**

**I'm going to apologize in advance for the short chapter.**

Sam couldn't sleep. She sat on the edge on Jazz's pool, her feet dangling into the cool water as she watched the lights reflections. Before she had crawled into Jazz's bed several hours ago in an attempt to sleep she had gotten the 'You weren't the only one who suffered' lecture from the red headed woman. She knew that. Really. It just was really hard to think about how anyone else had suffered when all she could feel was her heart breaking again.

"I thought you were going to your mothers." Sam jumped when Danny spoke, she hadn't even heard him coming outside and walking up behind her. She watched him sit next to her as she silently wondered when he got to be so sneaky.

"I also said I needed to be away from you."

"Well, you sure did a good job of trying to get away from me, after all, staying in the same house I am, that's just perfect for avoiding me. Just like it's perfect to show me how committed you are to Evan when you let me kiss you repeatedly."

"Shut up."

Sam could hear Danny scoff and make a pft type of sound but didn't look at him. She really wanted to just walk away but was unbearably conscious of the fact that all she was wearing was an oversized t-shirt over her panties, she would not leave and give Danny the pleasure of looking at her ass as she stood up and walked off. When Danny spoke though she realized that was the last thing on his mind.

"I'm getting real tired of this, Sam. I'm trying here. I'm trying my God Damned best, and you aren't letting me. Do you even realize that I'm the one who should be mad at you?"

Now her head snapped up in surprise as she fixed her gaze on Danny.

"I mean, for God's sake, Sam, Tuck kept looking for me, TUCKER! I was tortured every single fuckin' day because I fought Skulker, I killed him, so he wouldn't go after YOU Sam! I had defeated him, he was laying broken in the damned suit of his, stuck under ruble.

"He wouldn't have been able to catch me again before I got back to your arms. I was leaving! I was going to leave him be and just go back to you when, you know what he said? He told me that if I left, he would just come back again. I knew it already. I told him I'd keep fighting him as long as he kept coming after me and……..and he said that next time he wouldn't go after me directly. He said I couldn't be with you all the time and he told me that once I left you alone for even a minute you were going to be his. Skulker told me that if I left him alive he would take you from me.

"He told me all the things he planned to do to you Sam. He said that he would take you away, and you wouldn't know what had happened. You would wake up chained to a dungeon wall somewhere, surrounded by torture devises he'd picked up throughout the years. He described all of these horrible contraptions. The news has been all over water boarding this week, and how's it's torture apparently. They've obviously never heard of a rogue's pear. It's this large metal pear shaped ball on a pole with a switch. As you pull down on the switch the top opens up, spreading whatever opening it's in. It can break bones and God knows what else.

"He said that personally he had no interest in mortal girls and that they disgusted him ever, but that in order to take away everything from you he would suffer through raping you." Danny's words caught in his throat as he pushed the possibility out of his head, "Said he'd even over shadow Dash or Tucker to make it that much worse. I don't know if he was bluffing or not, it still scares me to think if he was seriously going to do those things. I couldn't let that happen. So I went back. I stood right over him….looking him in the eyes. He kept laughing, saying I didn't have the guts to save you. So I killed him."

Sam didn't know what to say, she couldn't say anything. There were no word to express the feelings as she watched Danny continue intently. She felt guilty for not having done more and for having been a liability to Danny. She was angry he was so arrogant as to think she couldn't have taken care of herself. Most significantly though, she was terrified of this man, of who Danny had become.

"I didn't know Walker was there. How could I have? He watched me kill Skulker and then came down with twenty of his men. He was so happy that he had seen me commit a crime I couldn't weasel out of. All that happened, happened because I love you, Samantha Manson. Don't you forget that next time you want to play the hurt little girl who lost her boyfriend."

Danny finally returned Sam's stare with the last two sentences out of his mouth. Sam was shocked by what he'd said and by his glowing green eyes. He'd been doing that more and more since he came back, and it couldn't be a good sign.

Sam opened her mouth to speak and was cut off when Danny firmly grabbed her jaw on one large hand and pulled her face forward a few inches. Her amethyst eyes set instantly into Sam's 'you're pissing me off' look. She wanted to tell Danny to get his hands off of her, but she was still worried about his temper, evident in his firm grasp and eerie gaze.

Danny let go of Sam, almost pushing her away. In a matter of seconds he a turned ghost and was off into the night sky. It was all Sam could do to watch Danny leave. She stood, turning dejectedly to go back inside, stopping when she saw Jazz.

"He's been going out every night like that. He wakes up, screaming sometimes, and said he just has to get out of the house when it happens. He's claustrophobic now too, he leaves his bedroom door half open at night and he asked if instead of using the guest bathroom he could use the master bath since it's larger." Jazz shrugged as she walked back inside, "I guess you two still have some more talking to do."

Sam followed helplessly, feeling like an insolent child who had just been scolded for something she knew was wrong but had done anyway. "Do you think it was really my fault, Jazz?"

Jazz shrugged again as she climbed back under the covers in her room, "Personally, I'm going to blame Skulker and Walker for both having grudges against my brother, and I'm going to blame a cruel fate. Get some sleep, Sam, you still have to face both of your men in the morning."

Sam nodded a bit, thinking to herself, "Um…I think I'm going to go crash on your couch. No offense, but since Danny already knows I'm here, I don't really want to share your bed if I don't have to."

"That's alright, there are extra blankets and pillows in the closet at the end of the hall, by Danny's room."

Sam mumbled something along the lines of thanks as she wandered back down the hall to gather up blankets. Trudging back into the living room as she laid out on the couch. Sam tried to stay awake until Danny got back, to apologize, but sleep got the better of her, and before long she was lost in slumber. If Sam had been able to stay awake for another half hour she would have seen Danny slip back into the house, and she would have seen him watching her slow breaths. Danny fell asleep in a chair across from Sam. In the morning he'd wake up before she did and leave without her ever realizing Danny was there.


	6. Coffee with the Dead

Sam was passing in the living room, Danny could hear her footsteps and the faint sound of her talking to Evan. Ugh, just thinking the man's name put a foul taste in his mouth. Or maybe that was the hangover. Danny put his forehead against the cool ceramic wall of the shower as he prayed silently that his head would stop pounding soon. He needed to go out there sometimes and it wouldn't do to be cranky and in pain. He stuck his head back under the running water of the shower to rinse the shampoo out of his hair before turning off the shower.

Grabbing a towel as he slid open the glass door on Jazz's shower he tried to listen to what exactly was being said in the other room, now that the sound of running water had abated.

"No, this isn't some little deal."

A pause.

"Evan….He's important to me, he always has been. I need to work things out with him before I do anything else."

Another pause followed by a sigh this time.

"You don't have to understand, you just need to accept it. I love you, but I can't leave things the way they are, it just isn't right."

More silence on Sam's end of the conversation.

"No, probably not tonight."

Silence again. Damn it. Why couldn't he hear what that idiot was saying, that would take all the guess work out of understanding the conversation.

"Alright, I have to go."

Danny sighed and tossed the towel onto the bathroom counter and he started pulling on his clothes. He paused, looking in the mirror with his black t-shirt in his hands. He looked like shit. His hair was messier than normal, his eyes here sunken and dull, and all those scars, each one a painful reminder. He pulled his shirt on over his still wet hair and walked out to greet the morning and the hell he expected it to be.

When Danny came into the living room he was greeted with the sharp, earthy scent of coffee that had been burnt. His nose wrinkled up a little bit as he turned to see who had produced the horrid brew. He already had an idea who it was since Jazz had been making him coffee every day and yet to burn it. His gaze fell on the violator who had ruined the dark brew. Yup, he was right. There sat Sam at the dining room table, newspaper laid out in front of her, feet curled up on the chair underneath her, and a cup of coffee in her hands, the rim of the cup pressed lightly to her lips as though she had paused mid-sip.

He walked quickly past Sam, to the counter. The coffee smelled awful, but he needed something to clear his head. Pouring a cup and grabbing an orange from the fruit bowl on the counter he sat down across from Sam. He bit into the thick skin of the orange, tearing open the peel so he could pull it back.

"Where's Jazz?"

Sam's looked up, smiling like they had never fought, like he walked into the kitchen to greet her every morning. "She said she had some errands to run and would be back around noon."

Danny made an 'ah' kind of sound as he decided to brave the coffee and take a swig from his mug. As soon as the stuff touched his tongue he regretted it. The brew Sam had made was bitter and nasty. It felt like it burned, and not from heat, as it slid down his throat. He couldn't help but throw a look of slight amazement and disgust at the young woman who sat drinking the coffee casually like there was nothing wrong with it. He sat the coffee down on the table, determined not to drink it again, and to just let the stuff go cold so he could politely pour it down the drain where it belonged.

"So, when are you leaving then?"

Sam looked up at Danny again, still smiling. What was with the damn smile? "Trying to get rid of me Mr. Fenton? I'll be staying another night."

Great. More drama. Danny really didn't want to push Sam away, he REALLY didn't. However, he didn't want to keep fighting with her and he was worried that fighting was al that would come of this.

"Another day, hu? Won't your beau be a bit displeased with that?" Now he had an idea what the phone conversation was about. She had been telling Evan that she was staying here longer to work things out with Danny. That couldn't have made the other man pleased.

Sam shrugged, "He understands."

Bullshit. Danny had to bite the inside of his lip to avoid laughing. Sam wasn't going to admit to him that Evan hated his guts. It was probably driving her nuts that he wouldn't just let her do what she wanted without a fight.

"Hmm….so, is this bonding time for us then?"

"Well, we do have a lot we need to talk about, and I'm hoping that we can do it without screaming at each other this time." Danny had to admit Sam was right about the screaming thing. Every time they had spoken since he got back it ended up with at least one of them yelling at the other.

"Alright, let's talk. Why was Tucker the only one to come looking for me?"

He could see Sam panic a little bit, it looked like her breath was caught in her chest. She probably hadn't been expecting him to be so blunt.

"Danny, I thought you were dead…."

"Yea, I got that."

"I tried to go with Tucker once, I broke down in tears and couldn't do anything, before we even got into the ghost zone. He thought you were alive, but I couldn't see how you could be. Tucker thought he'd find you alive and just healing up somewhere, I thought I'd find your dead and mangled corpse. I couldn't cope with that. For the first few months after it happened, I would wake up in a cold sweat. I was having these dreams that Tucker had found you; he would come out of the ghost zone holding your body, laughing and telling us it was ok, but you would just lay limp in his arms, your eyes lifeless and your body decaying." Sam shuddered at the long lost image that had haunted her dreams for so many nights.

Danny rubbed his forehead and took another big drink of his coffee. Yup, the coffee was still disgusting. "So, you didn't even try to find me, because of a bad dream?"

"Danny, it's not like that, I honestly believed you were dead. Everyone except Tuck did, and after a while he started to think you might be dead, he just thought there was a chance your ghost was still 'you'."

"He…..he was looking for my ghost?"

Sam just nodded in silence. Danny stared at the table top for what felt like an hour but couldn't have been more than a couple minutes in reality. Slowly he looked back to Sam, "And you started dating Evan because you thought I was dead?" There was that foul taste in his mouth again.

"Yea…."

Danny bit down the swelling anger he could feel. It wouldn't do to get mad at Sam when this was the first time since he had returned where they were actually getting anywhere with a conversation. "Well, I'm not dead. Am I?"

Danny and Sam sat in silence, staring at each other. His implication was obvious. He thought the only reason Sam was with this guy was because he was nice to her and what she needed when Danny wasn't there. By that logic, she shouldn't need Evan anymore, now that Danny was back. He could see it in her eyes though, at least he thought he could. He saw a woman who had lost him once and was afraid to loose him again, and didn't want to give up the security blanket she'd gotten in the form of Evan.

What he didn't see, and couldn't see, was Sam wondering if she'd ever really loved Evan, or had just used him to fill the hole in her life. He couldn't see Sam regretting being with Evan, now that Danny was back, but not wanting to throw Evan to the side. He couldn't see that she knew, whether she had used Evan for comfort or not in the beginning, she wouldn't sink so low as to toss him to the side and say it was all just for the sake of a broken heart. She had made a commitment and she couldn't bring herself to break it that easily.

Of course, what neither of them knew was that at that very same moment Evan was sprawled out on his and Sam's bed, fuming over how said woman had wanted to bring Danny back into her life, and how he felt slighted for it. Evan hated Danny, because he had a part of Sam that Evan could never touch. Also, because even if he didn't realize it yet, Danny could take Sam away from Evan.

Sam shook her head with a sigh, "No, you aren't dead."

Danny couldn't help but laugh, Sam's tired sounding voice would have made anyone else think she was upset he was alive. "Miss me that much, eh, Sammy?"

"I didn't mean it that way, Danny. I missed you, every day I missed you."

Danny looked at Sam, her face was so sad, her eyes showed pain. "You just don't want me back, am I right?" That was his key, play the 'kicked puppy' card.

"Danny! I told you, I love, but I love Evan, and I'm engaged to him. We can't change the past…"

Sam turned her head away from Danny. He thought he saw her flinch. He stood up, crossing the space between them and kneeling beside Sam. He put both his hands on her knees and smiled once she looked at him. "Then I'll respect that. Sam, I love you, I want you in my life, one way or another. I'm sorry about the other night, I just…..I needed to come to grips that you aren't mine anymore."

His only response was Sam nodding as tears came to her eyes. Oh yea, this was much more effective then trying to seduce her back into his arms or just take her back. He'd just play the cool, collected friend until Evan pissed her off enough with his jealousy that she came running to him. Of course, he would drop constant little hints that he still wanted her and needed her. He didn't want Sam to start to think he was OK with all of this, so much as he just wanted her to think he would support her so she could be happy. He didn't see how she could be happy with that jackass though, so for her own good, he would get her away from Evan. Damn, he had become conniving.


	7. All's Fair

It had been another week since Sam and Danny had made up. She had now returned home and things with Evan seemed to be going back to normal. Sam would either see Danny or speak to him on the phone every day, that obviously annoyed Evan, but the man said nothing to Sam, so she was pleased. Danny had decided he would become a fireman, since he needed a real job, and it would be a way for him to help people more than he already did. Tucker of course thought that was a bad idea when it came to his unpredictable ghost fighting schedule and how it would mash up with the predictably busy schedule of a fireman. Danny had just justified it by pointing out he wasn't a high school student anymore and wouldn't mooch off of Jazz forever just so he could fight ghosts at his convenience.

Danny hadn't said anything about his experience in the ghost zone since the night by the pool, and that was fine. Even though everyone was mildly curious what happened, no one was dying to know the details, they were just glad Danny was back and he was cooping fine. Well, Jazz thought he was cooping a bit to well, but that's a therapist for you, always saying there's something wrong with someone, trying to find something to fix.

Tonight Danny and Evan were meeting for beers. Neither one had wanted to, but Evan, in an attempt to appease Sam had decided the two needed to bond. Evan had gone so far as to tell Sam that he might even learn to like Danny if he got to spend some time with him, now that he had dealt with the initial anger. Danny had accepted without hesitation, seeing this as a perfect opportunity to put Evan in his place without Sam there. So, Danny stepped into a local bar dressed in black jeans and a dark blue collared shirt. His eyes glanced around the room twice before seeing the head of blond hair he had come to view as a form of amusement rather than competition.

The other man was wearing dress slacks and a white shirt. That's a shame, blood doesn't come out of white and with any luck, there would be bloodshed tonight. Danny took the open stool besides Evan, patting him on the shoulder as he sat down. "Hey! It's my new favorite man."

"Favorite man?" Evan raised an eyebrow, not even trying to hide his surprise. Yup, he had been expecting a fight right off the bat.

"Eh," Danny shrugged, waving the bartender over, "If Sam loves you, then I like you. Heineken, please."

"I suppose…." Evan didn't take his eyes off of Danny, "Newcastle."

Danny turned back to Evan, grinning, "Hey, I'm sorry about the party, man. I didn't realize it would upset you so much for me to talk about how Sam was in high school. I mean, when I was with her I kept asking her parents what she was like before I'd met her."

Evan's eye twitched a little. This was going to be easier than he'd though.

"No…I was upset. I thought you would try to take Sam away from me."

Danny laughed a little, taking a swig of his beer as soon as it had been given to him, "And what makes you think I'm not?"

Evan looked at Danny in surprise again, mingled with anger, "If you were going after her you wouldn't be trying to make friends with me."

"And why is that?" Danny stared blankly at the TV hanging in the corner of the bar, it was on a Boston game. He'd never liked baseball, but the casual, 'I don't care' look was needed for this.

He could hear Evan stumble with the words for a second before speaking, "Because, you would be more concerned with wooing Sam than befriending me to make her happy."

Danny took another drink, swallowing slowly, "You ever hear of the saying 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer'?" He tilted his head a bit, so he was watching Evan out of the corner of his eye.

The blond simply looked back at Danny, "I'm NOT an enemy you want to keep close."

"That's a good one, Evan." He didn't even have to look at Evan again to tell the man had internally cringed at the use of his name. "Look," Danny swiveled around so he was facing Evan, took another drink, nd propped his beer bottle on his knee, "I love her, I won't give that up without a fight."

Evan offered an extended hand to Danny, he only raised his eyebrows and looked at the hand like he had never seen one before, "What is that for?"

"It's tradition for gentlemen who are rivals to shake hands, acknowledging each other as equals."

Danny laughed, taking another swig of beer, "We aren't gentlemen." _Or equals_, thought Danny_. _

Evan took a swig of his own drink, resting his elbows on the bar counter as he turned to watch the Boston game, "True, just remember all's fair in love and war, and this is both."

They sat in silence for the rest of the night, warily watching one another, but not saying anything lest they risk discovering they had more in common than Sam. They didn't like each other, and neither one wanted to like the other. Danny was furious inside. He was hoping that Evan's short temper from before wasn't just from the stress of Sam's old beau reappearing after three years. He was hoping he could have made a pattern out of Evan swinging at him. Now he would actually have to learn about the man to figure out what it was Sam had fallen for, and how to get rid of that. Now he would have to put in effort.

Three beers each and six innings later the two parted ways, Danny raising his bottle to Evan who clinked his to it in a show of respect. Loathing, yes. But respect as well. Evan left first, calling a cab since he had taken a cab in the first place, unsure of how much he would drink that night. Danny waited a few minutes before walking outside and going around the back of the bar. In a flash of light that went up and down his body in rings Danny Fenton had become Danny Phantom. His black hair was a soft white color and floated about his head and face like smoke. His blue eyes were a disturbing green, and his shirt and jeans had been replaced with a black jumpsuit that had a stylized white "D" on his chest.

He hadn't gotten the fight he wanted from Evan, so he would look elsewhere for it. In a mere moment he was off the ground soaring through the city sky, his eyes searching for signs of any ghost at all. There. Box Ghost. He would do.

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**Author's Note**: **This was a difficult chapter to write because it's basically filler, but it was necessary. It is my shortest chapter to date, and I'm sorry for that. I promise this is not a trend.**


	8. Better Left Unsaid

Sam laid back against the cool cement, her bare feet dangling into the cold water of Jazz's pool. Her long, dark hair was spread out behind her and her lavender colored bikini had little silver star decorations stitched into it. To her left sat Tucker wearing the brightest swim trunks she had ever seen in neon green and with his dreads out of their normal ponytail. Tucker's dreads hung around his shoulders like heavy lumps of wet cloth since they effectively were sponges once he got into the water.

To her right, Danny was in the water, hanging onto the edge of the pool as he reached for the soda next to Sam. Jazz had gotten Danny a pair of black swim trunks and they looked good against his pale skin. The sun was shinning and it was one of those lazy days near the end of summer, where everything looked like it was brushed with a golden shine.

In the middle of the pool drifted Jazz, laying on a pink inflated lounge. Her red hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, and she looked utterly west coast in her white two piece and big, dark sunglasses. She had left a little stereo by the door that was playing old rock.

Sam opened her eyes to watch the clouds drifting past when Danny grabbed her ankles and pulled her into the water with a large splash and a loud scream. In a matter of moments Tucker was back in the water as well and the three were splashing and dunking each other. Jazz glanced up from her magazine, smiling to herself about the others and her gaze drifted to Evan standing against the glass door in a pair of dark gray slacks and a white oxford shirt that had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. The blond was holding a sport jacket over his shoulder as he called out to Sam.

"Sweetheart, I have to go, I just got a call from work."

Everyone paused to look at Evan, then Danny and Tucker went back to play fighting as Sam climbed out of the pool. Wrapping a towel around herself to keep from getting Evan wet, Sam gave him a quick hug, "Alright, are you going to miss dinner then?"

"Fraid so." Evan kissed Sam lightly on the cheek before waving to everyone else and going back inside to grab his shoes and head out. Sam turned back to the others, tossing her towel on a chair.

"Want to stay here for dinner, Sam? I'm making Danny barbeque ribs tonight, we'll throw together a nice salad and put some tofu dogs on."

Sam nodded to Jazz, slipping back into the water, "Sure, sounds good."

As soon as Sam was in the pool again both the men had grabbed one of her arms and pulled her under the water. They all came up laughing, and Sam moved over to the shallow end of the pool where she placed herself on one of the pool steps and started pulling the tangles out of her long hair.

"Hey Danny, something's been bugging me."

Danny let go of Tucker, swimming over to where Sam was, "What's up?"

"You told me how you got out of that ghost prison, but…..why hasn't Walker come after you? It's been a month."

Danny's eyes flashed green, but only for a second before he rolled over onto his back and floated leisurely, "I don't know, maybe he's buying his time."

There was definitely something missing from that response. But, everyone had learned that if Danny didn't answer you outright, then you shouldn't push it. Trying to force answers out of him lately ended with him storming off or blowing something up usually. Everyone understood that he'd been through a traumatizing event, but it was starting to wear thin on Sam's nerves that Danny would turn ghost and fly off rather than tell her what had happened. This was also something fairly big. Walker was going to come after Danny to put him back in a cell, and she didn't want to loose him again. Sam wanted to know why Walker hadn't come after Danny yet so that she would know how to keep him away from Danny.

"Danny, this is serious. We need to have a plan for when he comes to get you."

"Look, Sam, He's not coming. Alright?"

"What?" Everyone had spoken that last time, and now all eyes were on Danny as he stared up at the blue sky.

"Danny, what do you mean Walker's not coming after you? How do you know that?" There was a huge amount of worry in Jazz's voice and it pulled at the worry in Sam's mind.

"He's not. Trust me. I dealt with him." Danny swam to the edge of the pool, pulling himself out of the water and walking inside before anyone dared say anything even. The seconds he was gone dragged on heavily with a silence that tore at the very souls of the three people in the pool. For what felt like eternity the only sign that Danny had been there were the wet footprints leading into the house.

Danny returned moments later, his hands balled up into fists. All eyes were on Danny as he tossed a small, flat piece of what looked like silver towards his sister. The badge bearing the name Walker landed in Jazz's lap.

Her fingers gingerly touched the metal, turning it over to inspect it and verify it's existence before her light blue eyes turned back to Danny's own dark ones. Her concern and fear were evident on her face as she stumbled to find the words she needed to say. Sam and Tucker had both moved to cling to the lounge on which Jazz sat, peering up to try and get a better look at the metal.

Jazz's light blue eyes, Sam's amethyst colored eyes, and Tucker's chocolate ones all asked the same question of Danny without anyone having to open their mouth even. Danny's dark blue eyes and solemn expression gave the answer his voice wouldn't. His body told them he had done more in the last three years to make his friends and family fear him than he had ever done before. His eyes told them he had killed, more than once, and everyone was afraid to confirm it.

He dropped his shoulders with a sigh and shook his head, "I dealt with him. Let's leave it at that." Danny picked up his soda off the stone and took a large drink, finishing it off. He looked back at the people in the pool. No one had moved. No one had spoken. The three were still watching him in silence, their eyes fixed on him in disbelief. Danny stuck his head back inside the door and then turned to the pool once more.

"It's almost four, if we're going to have Sam for dinner I think I should go get some more salad fixings and a pack of tofu dogs." He turned back into the house. "I'll be back."

Everyone listened until they heard Danny pull out of the driveway several minutes later after changing and pulling on shoes. They even waited until Danny had been gone for two or three minutes before anyone spoke.

"Oh….my….God…." Jazz clutched the metal badge to her chest, unsure of how to take the news. She knew Danny had killed Skulker because he threatened Sam, but Walker too? And how many of Walker's men?

Tucker was trying to mumble something reassuring to Jazz, going on about how they didn't know what happened exactly and shouldn't jump to conclusions. Sam was in shock. She was just getting used to the idea that Danny had killed out of necessity, but had Walker been necessary? There must have been another way. And the question that was on all of their minds was possibly the most frightening of all, and the one that needed most to be asked. How many other ghosts had Danny obliterated, and did it stop with ghosts?

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Quick note to my readers, I am taking a vacation to go meet my future sister in law, so the next chapter is going to take a couple weeks to get up, bnut I promise I'll make it up to you by power of sheer awesome. Ancd Once again, Thank You to all my readers who have watched, faved, and commented; your enthusiasm has been very encouraging for me, as well as your critiques :)


	9. Saying Goodbye

Sam didn't know who else she could have talked to about it, everyone else was just as shocked as she was, but she didn't think Evan would react the way he had. He had went off on Sam, asking if she had a death wish, hanging around someone she knew to be a killer. She tried to tell him that Danny needed support right now, but Evan only saw his fiancée being buddy-buddy with some psychotic lunatic. Sam hadn't told Evan that Danny Fenton was Danny Phantom, but she stuck with the prisoner of war story she had first given him.

Now, Sam sat on the end of her bed, told she had to choose. In her hands were a stack of papers that amounted to Evan having done a background check and finding that Danny was never in the army, that he had never even been overseas….according to official records. She knew deep down that Evan was doing this because he loved her, and he couldn't stand knowing she was around someone that he knew nothing about, except that he was a killer and potentially dangerous to Sam. Deep down she knew it. She still felt like a little girl though, she had been told that she needed to choose between two men she loved. One that she had known her entire life, and wasn't that same man anymore. And the other, a man who had brought her comfort and love when she needed it most.

Her amethyst eyes stung as the first tears rolled down her cheeks. Her brain had stopped working already. Every sound seemed muted, and every sensation was dull. Sam couldn't understand why she was moving or what was happening as she stood up, placing the papers on the end of the bed. In a trance like state she opened the closet and pushed Evan's clothes aside, reaching to the back to find her travel bags. Three cases in dark purple. She laid them out open on the bed. Inside the biggest case were a set of lace panties and a silky nightshirt left in the case and forgotten from the last vacation she and Evan went on together. She pulled out a few old paper slips left inn there and dropped them in the trash can near the dresser.

Gathering up an armful of her clothes from in the dresser she dropped them unceremoniously into the largest suitcase. Next was the closet, she pulled down all her dresses and folding them in half, placed them into the second largest case, that one was full now. She closed it and zipped it shut. She went back to the dresser for her underware and socks. She pulled out the entire drawer, dumping it all into the large case again. Sam set the empty drawer on the bed and pulled out the few pairs of Evan's briefs that had been in her drawer, tossing them onto the bed as well. She left the bedroom, her steps now becoming enraged as she went about gathering up her things. She got her coats from the hall closet as well as her shoes, and dropped them into the large case, except for her tenny shoes and one hoodie.

Now she stormed into the bathroom, taking the small carry case with her. She shoved her cosmetics and things into the small case and went back into the bedroom, closing the case as she went. She paused as her eyes fell on the dresser. She ran back into the kitchen, and, ah-ha! They had just gotten a new coffee maker, the old one died, and the box was still sitting on the floor. She took the box with her, grabbing today's paper off the couch as she went back into the room. Carefully wrapping her jewelry box along with a few other small delicates, she set them inside the coffee maker box, and closed the thing. She closed up the big suitcase now and hefted the middle sized one over her shoulder as she balanced the box on one hip and the small carry case dangled from her other wrist. She would have to come back up for the big suitcase, but that was fine.

Her mind still didn't kick in and let the reality of what was happening sink in until she was back at the apartment door, going in to get the last of her things. She pulled out her cell as she went to the bedroom again. It rang five times before Jazz picked up.

"Hey, Jazz…..I need a favor. Uh, mind if I stay at your place again tonight? Thanks. No, I'll tell you when I get there……"

She put her phone back in her jeans pocket as she laid down every picture of her and Evan so that the image was facing downward. Next she pulled off her engagement ring, very slowly. She was crying again and hadn't even noticed it until she saw the tear drops fall onto the pillow next to the ring she had just set down. Whipping away the tears she set her jaw in stubbornness and picked up the last suitcase. She locked the door behind her as she left. The last suitcase was in the trunk of her car now and somehow the sound of the engine turning over cleared her mind a bit. It all made sense, crystal clear for her to see. Danny was her friend. He had always been her friend. He was also her lover. That was something that could never change. Her soul knew his, and she knew that he was no murderer. Yes, he had killed, but so had soldier and police officers, all to protect what they held dear. Danny was no different, he just needed her now, like she had needed him in high school and like how she had needed Evan in college.

It didn't take long for her to reach Jazz's house, and when she got there she could see everything in a new light. She was through with the drama, with the lies, with the pain that had come from Danny stepping back into her life when she was with Evan. She pulled into the drive and Jazz was waiting for her. She popped the trunk on her car and the two girls started grabbing her things as she explained that she had left Evan.

Sam stepped inside, setting her large suitcase and her carrying pouch next to the couch. Without wasting a second she walked down the hall, determined not to ruin this. Throwing open Danny's door she saw the man stretched out on his bed, a book on his hand as he looked up quizzically at Sam. He started to say her name, to ask her something, wondering what had happened and why she was there. But she cut him off, kicking the door shut behind her as she moved quickly across the room. Taking the book from Danny's hands, Sam climbed on top of him, her thighs on either side of his muscular torso, and she kissed him. Deep and sweet, she kissed him. It felt like water to someone who had been wandering through the desert without so much as a drop to drink. It felt like sunlight to a person who had been trapped in the darkness. Most importantly though, it felt right.

Sam pulled back half an inch, breaking the kiss, even as Danny tried to follow her lips with his. Her dark hair hung around there faces like a curtain. She opened her eyes a little to see Danny's dark blue eyes. The only sound was the rough sound of air passing through her lips as she whispered "I love you, Danny."

That was all he needed. Danny wrapped his arms tightly around Sam, pulling her against his body as he rolled over on top of her, pinning her against the bed. He nuzzled his face against her neck, just holding her. He couldn't bring himself to speak.

_Hi everyone, this is not the end. I want to thank you for sticking with me, especially during that long break I took. It's been quiet busy in the real world (I'm going to be an aunt) but there is more to come in this story. Thank you all for the kind reviews, and I hope you continue to enjoy it, and that you'll all stick around for the next installment as well._


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